FRENCH authorities have said a majority of voters in New Caledonia, an archipelago in the South Pacific, have chosen to remain part of France.
Officials said the results show 53.3% of voters who participated in the referendum have chosen to maintain ties with France, while 46.7% supported independence.
The independence referendum was part of a three-decade decolonisation effort aimed at settling tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France. The South Pacific archipelago has been part of France since 1853.
More than 180,000 voters were invited to answer the question: Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?
“Today is not a day like any other. Everyone woke up with the will to express oneself (through the vote). This is a historic day,” said Robert Wayaridri, 60.
In Noumea, the capital, large lines of people waited to vote under the hot sun, sometimes for hours.
Across the archipelago, horns and cheers could be heard all day, and some people waved pro-indy flags in a relaxed atmosphere.
The movement leading the independence campaign called on its supporters to stay “calm and respectful”.
Corine Florentin, 52, said that she had voted no because she wants to “remain French”. “We can live together, all races together,
and design our common future,” she said.
But Joachim Neimbo, 22, was in favour of independence.
“I voted yes, because that’s my people’s combat. We want the recognition of our identity, our culture. I think we are able to manage ourselves,” he said.
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